Was the Sound Master SR-88 Memory Rhythm basically a Boss DR-55 clone
or was it the DR-55 that ripped off the SR-88? That's a question that's
likely to remain unanswered... Both machines came out of Japanat the same time and are
a very similar.

The SR-88 was a programmable drum machine with the simple step-time,
(two buttons note on/note off) entry method. It had six memory locations of
16th note patterns (4/4) with an A & B variation (i.e. 12 patterns) and
two 12th note patterns (3/4) making a total of 16 possible stored beats (in
other words exactly the same as the DR-55).

Again, (like the DR-55) there were four drum sounds
available; kick, snare, hi-hat and cymbal. The sounds were slightly different
however. The SR-88 dispensed with the rimshot and provided a cymbal instead
which could be used as an open hi-hat. The Cymbal was a separate voice
however, and wasn't cut-off bythe closed hat when it re-triggered (something worth
remembering if you want to re-create authentic patterns from the one-shot
samples). The best feature was that the hi-hat was fully programmable,
dispensing with the annoying limitations of the DR-55's preset closed hi-hat
patterns. Also, (just as on the DR-55) there was a similar synch set-up which
provided a regular clock or a programmable pulse through the cymbal channel.
Side-by side, it looked as though the SR-88 had overcome a few of the
shortcomings of the Dr Rhythm so all that was left was the actual sound.

The Sound Master certainly wasn't from the Roland stable
in terms of its drum voices. The DR-55 certainly had the advantage in
providing a superior, (if a little too snappy) Roland kick but there was not
a lot wrong with the SR-88 either (especially for the price). The snare is
good and the hat and cymbal sounds are particularly nice. There's actually a
trick you can use while sampling this machine. If you go into step
programming mode and tap the start button to enter a note for the cymbal you
actually get a really long decay of up to 10 seconds which is a classic white
noise burst from the early '80s. So there you have it, another curio from
days gone by that will sound cool in the right sort of track and keep a few
people guessing.

Sound Master SR-88 Single Hits Pack - 64 sounds

SR-88
RHYTHM PATTERNS: (all patterns are in Recycle RX-2 format)

Note: These patterns are those that
appear in the owners manual and can be considered as "factory
patches". Both A & B rhythm variations are included but, (as
intended) variation B was programmed to come in on bar 4 as a fill. Rhythm
6A was rubbish so, (for fun) it was replaced by a John Foxx classic

Pattern:

Demo

Pattern:

RX2

01. PATTERN 01 [A+B] (Demo)

01. PATTERN 01 [A+B]

02. PATTERN 02 [A+B] (Demo)

02. PATTERN 02 [A+B]

03. PATTERN 03 [A+B] (Demo)

03. PATTERN 03 [A+B]

04. PATTERN 04 [A+B] (Demo)

04. PATTERN 04 [A+B]

05. PATTERN 05 [A+B] (Demo)

05. PATTERN 05 [A+B]

06. PATTERN 06 [A+B] (Demo)

06. PATTERN 06 [A+B]

07. PATTERN 07 [A+B] (Demo)

07. PATTERN 07 [A+B]

08. PATTERN 08 [A+B] (Demo)

08. PATTERN 08 [A+B]

Please note: these
patterns are a work in progress and many more will be added as time
permits.

All samples on this site are
free for you to use in your music (commercial or amateur) but are NOT to be
used on another website/commercial sample library/sample cd/vsti rompler
etc... without our prior consent.